Via the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304104504579373373528053300For all the meticulous planning that has gone into the state dinner for French President François Hollande, the White House will be forced to improvise a bit because of the French leader's romantic troubles.
Mr. Hollande is coming solo, having broken up with his longtime girlfriend, Valerie Trierweiler.
That poses complications—from the traditional family photo taken at the White House to the seating arrangement at the head table, said Anita McBride, former chief of staff to Laura Bush, who also served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
"The iconic photograph on the North Portico will be three and not four people," she said.
Typically at a State Dinner, the president sits next to the guest of honor's spouse. That won't happen on Tuesday night.
"It won't be hard to find someone else from that guest list, certainly, to put there. Even though it's steeped in many years of protocol, the White House is a place that adapts to changes rather quickly and can be flexible and nimble in a case like this," she added
This is a thing? The White House has never hosted a single Head of State before? Lord knows what the panic would be like if they had to host the King of Togo - he usually travels with all his wives.
